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Outlook 2019: Nigeria's desperate quest to banish oil sector inertia

HIGHLIGHTS
Egina field to push output by 10% in 2019

Energy bill key to sector's renaissance

Fiscal, militancy challenge ahead of elections

London — Nigeria's oil sector is in urgent need of entangling itself from the web of economic stagnancy, stalled reforms and a risk of rising militancy next year.

Nigeria's output will get a much needed boost with the startup of the 200,000 b/d Egina oil field which could take production, OPEC dependent, up to a decade high of 2.3 million b/d.

But the country faces uncertainties around a volatile presidential campaign season ahead of its February 2019 elections.

At first glance, oil production was a positive story in 2018. Output recovered to around 2 million b/d as President Muhammadu Buhari and his government found ways to keep the militants quiet through promises of development, money and an amnesty program.

But on closer inspection, the trend is one of oil output stagnation in recent years due to instability in the restive oil-rich Niger Delta and underinvestment in infrastructure.

Buhari's popularity is also on the wane especially in the south of the country where almost all of the oil in produced, analysts remain wary of attacks by militants.

"That early next year is an election period gives cause for concern, that of pockets of violence enough to disrupt operations," an official from an oil major operating in Nigeria said. "Politicians may want to use militants to score political points, so we can expect a couple of shut-ins, vandalization of pipelines and wellheads which can affect production," the official added.

In 2016, Nigeria output slumped to around 30-year lows of 1.1 million b/d due to attacks on its key oil infrastructure and the specter of fresh attacks still haunts the sector. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. recently acknowledged that sabotage on its oil pipelines was on the rise.

STALLED REFORMS
Nigeria has been starved of new investments in oil and gas projects and one of the reasons for this has been the inertia caused by the lack of progress of the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB).

This PIGB is almost a metaphor for the problems in the industry, with many desperately hoping Buhari will approve the bill quickly after he withheld its assent in August.

"If the President signs the bill before the elections in February, the Nigerian oil outlook in 2019 will be brighter, the current cloud of uncertainty will be removed" Nigeria-based energy analyst Wunmi Iledare said.

"There is already uncertainty in the market, unstable oil prices, Nigeria cannot allow uncertainty in policies further engulf the industry," he added.

Analysts argue that the bill will better regulate upstream agreements, fiscal terms, and production-sharing contracts. The bill also aims to create efficient governing institutions with clear objectives, so as to diminish the powers of the stateowned NNPC.

"You cannot do major reforms on piecemeal policies without the fundamental plank that legislation provides," said Adeola Adenikinju, an oil analyst and professor at the University of Ibadan.

Oil majors including Shell, ExxonMobil, Total and Chevron are all losing patience with the slow progress of reform, particularly as regulatory changes in rival oil provinces such as Mexico prove more appealing.

"All of us have heard of the non- assent of the PIGB. It is important to state that the current state of the Nigerian oil and gas industry will likely remain the way it is for a long time to come unless there are reforms that will make it globally competitive and in line with current global practices," Andrew Ejayeriese, president of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Engineers (NAPE), the umbrella body of Nigerian professionals involved in upstream activities, said.

LIGHT AND SWEET
Despite the unrest, Nigeria's crude oil, which is light and sweet and of high quality, could face a brighter future.

It is mostly low in sulfur and yields a generous amount of diesel, jet fuel, and gasoline, which are the most profitable products for global refineries.

Light sweet crude could stage a comeback as the International Maritime Organization's low sulfur cap on marine fuels comes into effect in 2020.

Nigeria's oil marketers and oil ministry need to increase the popularity of its crude amid global refiners and push more volumes in to the refining hubs in Asia, which are the heartbeat of oil demand.

Nigeria needs to find innovative ways to attract buyers from countries or regions where crude oil demand is rising--especially China, the world's largest crude oil importer--as exporters of US crude have recently done successfully. Nigeria has taken some steps to do this, but it needs to do more.

https://www.spglobal.com/platts/en/market-insights/latest-news/oil/010219-outlook-2019-nigerias-desperate-quest-to-banish-oil-sector-inertia

Nigeria’s POS transactions rose by 95% in 2018 – NIBSS

The volume of Point of Sales (POS) activities via mobile devices in Nigeria rose by 95.4 percent in 2018, the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) has said.

Volume of the transactions increased to 285.9 million in full year 2018 from 146.3 million in 2017, figures by NIBSS said in a report released Thursday.

The report also showed that the value of POS transactions rose by 64.3 percent to N2.3 trillion during the year, from N1.4 trillion in 2017.

Gbolahan Ologunro, an equity research analyst at Lagos-based CSL Stockbrokers attributed the rise to the increased digitalisation of traditional banking services.


“We see banks now shifting to digital channels in the form of online banking transactions and that has enabled customers to carry out their day-to-day transactions off those channels,” Ologunro said. “It is consistent with the general growth in non- interest revenue that banks recorded as at the first nine months of 2018.”

Additionally, the value of mobile transfers rose by 48.3 per cent to N291.6 billion in 2018, from N196.6 billion in the previous year.

Similarly, the volume of transactions of mobile transfers increased by 43.1 per cent from 5.1 million in 2017 to 7.3 million in 2018.

Nigerian banks are trying to catch up with their counterparts in other parts of Africa in the provision of online and mobile banking facilities as part of efforts to deepen financial inclusion in the continent’s most populous country. The Central Bank of Nigeria has set a target of 80 percent inclusion to be achieved by year 2020.

Bismarck Rewane , M.D, Financial Derivatives Company Limited, said that the rise in volume of online transactions is a good thing to the economy

“People are shifting from cash transactions to online transactions for safety and convenience reasons and it has increased the circulation of the velocity of money which has as an impact on the number of transactions,” Rewane said.

Also, the volume of transactions on NIBSS instant payment (NIP) platform rose by 96 percent to 729.3 million in 2018 from 371.0 million in the previous year, while its value increased by 40.2 percent from N40.5 trillion in 2017 to N56.8 trillion in 2018.

The increased penetration of online banking services is already having an impact on the volume of cheque transactions as it reduced (year-on-year) by 16.7 percent

Ayodele Teriba, CEO, Economic Associates said this trend implied that more people are catching up with mobile transfers than before.

“In the past, before you could do any transfer, you would have to go to the bank. But now you can use a token at home to do your mobile transfer anywhere,” he said.


https://businessday.ng/nigerias-pos-transactions-rose-by-95-in-2018-nibss

Nigerian business snaps up Morecambe hotel

A Nigerian-backed hotel company has entered the UK market with its acquisition of the 29-bedroom Clarendon hotel in Morecambe, Lancashire.

The Statement Hotel Ltd, which was incorporated at Companies House in March 2018, has bought the hotel for an undisclosed sum off a guide price of £725,000 with the intention of turning the property into “a destination hotel with world-class standards”. The new owner was partly attracted to Morecambe by the proposals to develop the multimillion-pound Eden Project North in the seaside town.

The Clarendon, which was used as RAF headquarters during World War Two, was previously part of a portfolio of nine pubs and two hotels bought by Provincial Hotels and Inns, operated by management firm Onecall Hospitality, from Mitchells of Lancaster in 2016.

Nonso Ochinanwata of the Statement Hotel, said the acquisition of the property marked the company’s intention to build “a broader investment portfolio” in the UK.

“We targeted Morecambe as a location for various reasons, however, the proposals for the new Eden project, a venue intended to draw 500,000 to a million visitors every year, was a key factor.

“Now the transaction has completed we will be focussing our attention on transforming the Clarendon into a destination hotel with world-class standards.”

The deal was brokered by property company Fleurets.

https://www.thecaterer.com/articles/544048/nigerian-business-snaps-up-morecambe-hotel

The young African innovators to watch in 2019


In covering the continent, Quartz Africa pays keen attention to innovators on and from the continent who are breaking barriers. That thinking has informed an annual compilation of Quartz Africa Innovators lists in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018. Here’s a teaser of just a few of the most exciting young talent we’re keeping an eye on in 2019, they are all breaking ground in their respective fields and they’re are all under 30.

Sarah Diouf (Senegal)
In 2016, Sarah Diouf’s mission in starting Tongoro, a Dakar-based ready-to-wear fashion brand, was to fill a gap by offering an affordable African label in a market dominated by foreign brands. With a range of African print-based blouses, skirts and a popular Mburu handbag, Diouf, 29, is well on her way. After breaking even in the first year largely thanks to a strong customer base in the United States—including Beyonce—and the United Kingdom, Tongoro is looking to increase its footprint in major African cities. Tongoro also prides itself on being a wholly made in Africa fashion label, sourcing its materials across the continent and contracting local tailors.


Betelhem Dessie (Ethiopia)
In a tech space where excelling teenagers and women are both a rarity in Ethiopia, Betelhem stands out. Working with iCog, a robotics and artificial intelligence laboratory based in Addis Ababa, the 19 year-old Ethiopian is leading the charge to make artificial intelligence innovation and coding more mainstream among young Ethiopians. Betelhem leads several projects including Anyone Can Code, focused on teaching pupils aged between six and 13 the basics of artificial intelligence as well as Solve IT, a project that pushes teenagers to develop tech-based solutions to problems in their community. As she told Quartz Africa last year, “You have to be smarter than the machines that you’re using.”



Kelvin Doe (Sierra Leone)
Kelvin Doe’s early age curiosity for tinkering with electronics and electrical parts from scrapyards in his native Sierra Leone saw him go from being a self-taught engineer to becoming the youngest person to participate in the Visiting Practitioner’s Program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and giving TEDx speeches. The 22-year old prodigy has grown in leaps and bounds since and has founded K-Doe Tech, a startup working on solar energy inventions. Doe also continues to support young people in Sierra Leone, providing educational resources and tools as well as hosting workshops.


Silas Adekunle (Nigeria/US)
Silas Adekunle’s profile has risen rapidly over the past year thanks to a robot uprising of his own making. With a first-class degree in Robotics from the University of West England, the Lagos-born engineer founded Reach Robotics and is a pioneer in gaming robots. The robots have proven big enough to snag an exclusive sales deal with Apple stores and have seen Reach Robotics secure $10 million in funding. It’s a far cry from when Adekunle, 27, was causing power outages while tinkering with batteries while growing up in Nigeria.


Elvis Chidera (Nigeria)
A lack of required resources is not always a hindrance, as Elvis Chidera, 19, proves. The self-taught software engineer learned on how to code on a feature phone with very limited functions while growing up in eastern Nigeria. These days however, Chidera is working with dot Learn, a MIT-backed startup focused on easing access to online education by providing data-lite resources. Education is clearly a passion for the teenager who has also built PrepApp, an exam preparation app for students which has been installed over 35,000 times.

https://qz.com/africa/1513086/young-african-innovators-to-watch-in-2019/amp/

Nigeria’s database of Tax Payers hit 35m – JTB


The Joint Tax Board (JTB), says Nigeria’s data base of tax payers has expanded from 20 million to 35 million.

The Executive Secretary of the Board, Mr Oseni Elamah disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Sunday in Abuja.

Elamah explained that the feat was achieved as a result of the ongoing database consolidation of JTB, an initiative being executed in collaboration with the Nigeria Inter Bank Settlement System (NIBSS).

He said that the figure of the taxpayers comprised both individuals and corporate bodies.

He said that this showed that there was massive expansion of database pointing out that one could imagine when that translated to actual taxes that were collected in Naira and Kobo.

“At the moment, we are trying to break them into classes of taxpayers and various jurisdictions where they reside, state by state.

“Hopefully, by first week of January 2019, this information will be communicated to all the states and then we will ask them to file their reports for tax assessment and it is then, we will tell Nigerians, how many are teachers, artisans, entertainers among others,” he said.

Elamah disclosed that on the average, about 22 per cent growth in tax revenue had been recorded in both state revenue services and Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), when compared to 2017.

He added that this figure was collated as at third quarter; and by the end of last quarter, it would move to 30 per cent.

According to him, by end of the year, 2018 will be one of the best results ever posted by FIRS and most of the states.

He stated that with the advent of the Tax Identification Number (TIN), and Bank Verification Number (BVN), the tax authorities were currently tackling incomes of taxpayers and ensuring they paid their taxes as at when due.

He assured that the board would create more awareness in increase in voluntary compliance and also enhance the capacity of workers to be tax professionals.

Elamah also commended the Executive Chairman of FIRS and the JTB chairmanc, Mr Babatunde Fowler for his support in achieving the feat within a short period of time.

https://www.herald.ng/nigerias-database-of-tax-payers-hit-35m-jtb/

Nam’s fragile economy boxed into a corner


Windhoek - Namibia’s small, open and fragile economy is boxed into a corner and despite the government’s efforts to take the country out of the current economic slump, it could take another half a decade to recover.

Despite austerity measures aimed at curbing public spending, domestic growth has remained stagnant while international investments into the economy has stalled.

This year, the country only recorded one significant international investment – the new R190 million Peugeot, Opel assembly plant in Walvis Bay – but even that is set to create only 50 jobs.

Revenue from Southern African Customs Union (SACU) has also dwindled, while public debt continues to rise.

Coupled with the weakening US dollar and low global commodity prices, the country’s economy faces a spell on the side-lines and is running out of options on how to evade the tough corner.

A recent announcement by the Namibia Statistics Agency that the country has faced 10 consecutive quarters of negative economic growth further confirms predictions that the worst is yet to come.

Economic analyst, Dr Omu Kakujaha-Matundu, said the economy is in a box because the formal sector is struggling for growth.

“There is trouble in the formal sector, as evident with the closing of some retail shops, and some uranium mines have gone on holiday (stopped working),” he said.

Namibia’s finance minister, Calle Schlettwein, who has not been denying that the country is in recession since 2016 told The Southern Times that although some sectors are struggling to record growth, others are showing positive signs.

He admitted that the retail and wholesale sectors are struggling for growth.

Schlettwein added that Namibia is easily affected by global effects due to its small open and fragile economy. As a small open and resource-based economy, with a trade to gross domestic product over 100%, Namibia is vulnerable to external shocks through the trade link.

Also, commodity price volatility exert pressure on economic activity, public revenue, international reserves and the external position.

“Equally, weak external demand in our main trade partners presents challenges for the export sector, which limits potential growth. As such, measures to improve the productive capacity of the economy as well as economic diversification are critical for Namibia to bolster resilience,” said Schlettwein.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), which said the country risks the chance of going into an economic meltdown if nothing is done has advised the country to identify strategic policy decisions and specific measures to deliver the planned adjustments aimed at stimulating economic growth.

Moreover, the Fund encourages the government to combine expenditure and revenue measures to contain the short-term impact on growth, while safeguarding critical social and capital spending.

“There is significant room to undertake supply-side reforms to strengthen productivity and potential growth, and support job creation. This is in parallel with fiscal adjustment policies, as the government adjusts, special emphasis should be placed on strengthening the market operations of key public enterprises to improve the efficiency of the economy, and on establishing a well-structured wage policy for the public sector to better align wage dynamics with productivity growth,” last month’s report by the IMF states.

Schlettwein said he cannot tell for sure when the economy will recover but he was optimistic that the economy will eventually improve.

Namibia has also been struggling to collect tax at the desired rate mainly because of the ageing system. The finance ministry has now developed an online integrated tax administration system set to be effective in January 2019.

“At the moment, we are collecting tax as we have projected to collect from these sectors. Only the Valued Added Tax is a bit under pressure and is a little bit slow. The informal sector contributes 37% to the economy but it is not taxed. These people don’t pay tax but there are cash-based businesses in that informal sector that should at least be taxed and help grow the economy,” Schlettwein earlier told The Southern Times.

https://southerntimesafrica.com/site/news/nams-fragile-economy-boxed-into-a-corner

Customs generates N1.2tn, record 5,235 seizures in 2018


The Nigeria Customs Service on Friday said it generated the sum of N1.2tn as revenue for the 2018 fiscal period.

The service said this in a statement signed by its Public Relations Officer, Mr Joseph Attah.

The statement said the N1.2tn was an increase of N164.89bn over the 2017 collection of N1.03tn.

The Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (retd.), described the revenue collected as the result of various reforms implemented by the service.

He said the reforms were anchored on the dogged pursuit of what was right rather than being populist by compromising national interest on the altar of individual or group’s interests.

The CG said the reforms included the upgrade of the electronic systems from Nigeria Integrated Customs Information System I to NICIS II, which had blocked leakages.

Other reforms, he said, were the strategic deployment of manpower, strict enforcement of extant guidelines by the Tariff and Trade Department, robust stakeholder engagement resulting in increased compliance and increased disposition of officers and men to put national interest above selves.

The statement also said the NCS had reinvigorated anti-smuggling operations, adding that during the period, a total of 5,235 seizures with duty paid value of N61.54bn were recorded.

The seizures include arms, ammunition, over 59 containers of Tramadol and other controlled drugs and 320,709 bags of foreign rice.

The statement read in part, “Though smuggling remains a challenge, the service’s three layers security strategy continues to make smuggling unattractive to the would-be smugglers.

“While the service continues to deal decisively with smugglers, fellow citizens, especially border dwellers and port users are advised to support the NCS by reporting any smuggling activity to the nearest Customs formation.

“Together we can protect our economy and security by joining hands to fight smuggling and ensure that appropriate customs duty is paid on every dutiable import.”

The service called for support from the stakeholders to enable it to achieve its objectives in 2019.

https://punchng.com/customs-generate-n1-2tn-record-5235-seizures-in-2018/

Nigeria internet users jumped 14% in year to November 2018

…analysts link internet subscription rate to phone penetration


Nigeria internet users rose 14 percent in the year to November 2018, according to figures available from the Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC), regulator of the industry.

The number of internet subscribers in the country rose to 108.46 million last November, from 94.82 million a year earlier, according to NCC figures.

Active subscribers for data (internet) services on each of the licensed service providers utilising the different technologies showed that MTN reported 41.68 million internet users, while Globacom has 27.76 million subscribers. Airtel and 9mobile (formerly Etisalat) have 28.96 million and 10.6 million, respectively.

Among the mobile network operators, MTN and Airtel recorded the highest month-on-month increases in internet subscription with 1.7 percent and 1.5 percent increase respectively. For 9mobile total internet subscription of 10.1 million in October remained unchanged in November.



Omotola Abimbola, a research analyst at Ecobank, said the increase reflects smartphone penetration in the country. “Cheaper smartphones from Asia have been a boon to internet penetration in Africa in general and created a new and fast growing income line for telecommunications companies who are now recording double-digit growth in data revenue,” Abimbola said.

He said the increase in the number of internet users in Nigeria “could also be positive for the economy as internet penetration typically aids productivity and ecommerce.”

FBNQuest, a subsidary of the FBN group, said in its GoodMorning Nigeria publication on Thursday, January 3, 2019, that the increase in Nigeria’s internet users could have been due to the fact that “subscribers usually patronise dual-SIM mobile phones and stay connected via separate data packages on multiple networks, in order to “achieve uninterrupted internet access.”

FBNQuest said the increase in internet users “implies a density of 58 percent in a population estimated at 185 million, placing Nigeria well above the African average of around 16 percent as indicated by McKinsey.”

Data compiled from the NCC website show that the contribution of the telecommunications industry to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose by 0.98 percentage points to 8.39 percent in Q3 2018, from7.41 percent in Q3 2017. However, last year’s third-quarter contribution was less than the 10.43 percent contribution to the country’s GDP in the second quarter of the same year.

Nigeria’s GDP grew by 1.81 percent (year-on-year) in real terms in the third quarter of 2018, driven by the non- oil sector, the country’s statistical agency said.

The non-oil sector contributed 98.62 percent of the growth in that quarter, with the oil sector contributing the remaining 9.38 percent, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a report released recently.

The number of active subscribers for telephony services on each of the licensed service providers utilising different technologies including GSM, CDMA, Fixed Wireless and landline, show that MTN had 66.97 million subscribers, which is 40 percent of the total market share, followed by Globacom with 43.27 million (26 percent) and Airtel having 43.12 million (25 percent).

9mobile, the telecommunication company which has Teology as it highest bidder has a market share of 9 percent with 15.36million active customers.

The new shareholders of Teleology are yet to fulfil all regulatory and financial requirements for the take-over of 9mobile, BusinessDay was told by a source familiar with the issue.

Umar Dambatta, Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) confirmed this at the public hearing held recently at the instance of the House of Representatives Committee on Telecommunications chaired by Saheed Akinade-Fijabi (APC-Oyo) in Abuja.

According to Danbatta, out of the five regulatory and financial requirements, the new shareholders met only two conditions.

https://businessday.ng/exclusives/article/nigeria-internet-users-jumped-14-in-year-to-november-2018/

India Buys N719.2b Worth Of Crude From Nigeria In Q3

India was Nigeria’s biggest trading partner in the third quarter of 2018, gulping N719.2billion of crude and N37.7billion of natural gas exports from the country. India also bought cashew nuts worth N4.7billion from Nigeria. Latest figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), covering July, August and September, showed that Nigeria imported motorcycles and cycles worth N29.2billion from the Asian country. Other imports were medicines, such as antibiotics to the value of N7 billion, agricultural machines worth N3.6billion, dried vegetables N3.6billion and treated mosquito nets N3.4billion. The NBS also listed Spain, France, Netherlands and China as Nigeria’s major trading partners in the statement titled “Commodity Price Index and Terms of Trade for third quarter, 2018. Spain was the second biggest buyer of Nigeria’s crude, after India. The European country bought crude worth N463billion and liquefied gas valued N52.7billion. Nigeria also shipped leather valued N4.3billion and cocoa paste worth N300million to the country. In return, Nigeria imported petrol or motor spirit at N25.7 billion, bitumen N3.7billion and petrochemical products N3.4billion. France is Nigeria’s third biggest trading partner, the NBS figures showed. France bought N422.5 billion crude and N74.2billion liquefied natural gas and N1.1billion of soya bean oil from Nigeria, during the period. Nigeria imported petrol, called motor spirit worth N54.6billion and lubricating oil, worth N16.1billion. Netherlands is also a major importer of Nigeria’s crude as it bought N260.7billion worth in third quarter. It also bought liquified gas valued at N5.6billion, cocoa beans N2.9 billion and frozen shrimps and prawns N1.9billion. Nigeria imported from The Netherlands motor spirit or petrol valued at N337.2 billion, gas oil, N48.2 billion, medical equipment N36.7billion and medicines, such as antibiotics N9.5billion. China, the fifth important country to Nigeria in terms of trade bought crude worth N24.5billion, gas that includes LNG and butane N48.6billion. Nigeria imported chips worth N14.6billion from China, herbicides N14billion, motorcycles N12billion, vehicle chassis N10billion, iron and steel N10billion. The NBS said the all products Terms of Trade (TOT) index rose 0.52 per cent during the period under review. TOT is the relative price of imports in terms of exports and is defined as the ratio of export prices to import prices. It can be interpreted as the amount of import goods an economy can purchase per unit of export goods. The NBS said the increase in the TOT was driven by prices of prepared foodstuffs; beverages, spirits and vinegar; tobacco, footwear, headgear, umbrellas, sunshades, whips among others. According to the report, the all commodity group import price index decreased in the period under review by 1.76 per cent. It stated the decrease was due to change in prices of vegetable products. In addition, the report stated that all commodity group export price index rose by 1.26 per cent in the quarter under review. This, it stated was driven by prices of prepared foodstuffs, beverages, spirits and vinegar, tobacco, footwear, headgear, umbrellas, sunshades and whips among others. It further stated that all region group export index rose by 1.05 per cent as a result of trade with Asia. According to the report, the all-region group import index rose by 1.22 per cent as a result of trade with Oceania and Asian Regions. It stated that all regional terms of trade rose marginally by 0.10 per cent as a result of trade with Asia and other African Countries.

https://leadership.ng/2019/01/04/india-buys-n719-2b-worth-of-crude-from-nigeria-in-q3-2018/

NSE unveils AI powered X-Bot to enhance market participation

The Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, has launched the X-Bot, an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered Chatbot that responds directly and automatically to enquiries through Facebook Messenger.
The X-Bot which is the first African securities exchange Chatbot is designed to provide market participants, especially retail investors, convenient, faster and real-time access to data and information from the Exchange.

Commenting on X-Bot, Mr. Oscar N. Onyema, CEO of the Exchange, noted that the introduction of X-Bot is in line with the NSE’s drive to improve market participation through greater access to market information.

“We aim for an Exchange that is easily accessible and actively matches investors’ increased thirst for information and detailed disclosure information to make sound investment decisions. With X-Bot, investors in our market can access on-demand market information, news and events on the activities of the Exchange and the various products and instruments that are listed and traded on it”.

“The Exchange has always been at the forefront of innovation, and the launch of the X-Bot marks yet another significant milestone in our continuous adoption of new technologies with a customer-centric focus to make financial services more inclusive and to provide a superior customer experience in the access and use of capital”, said Onyema.

On his part, Mr. John Adelana, head, Regulatory Technology (RegTech), NSE, stated that “Customer experience is a key priority for NSE and we are deeply committed to constantly improving it. With the launch of X-Bot, NSE becomes the first African securities exchange to launch a customer interactive machine learning chatbot, which contributes to facilitating and accelerating the process of providing information to market participants.

“We are particularly excited about the ability of X-Bot to learn through customers interactions and become better at providing our customers with more relevant and timelier solutions overtime”.

https://guardian.ng/business-services/nse-unveils-ai-powered-x-bot-to-enhance-market-participation/amp/

Commercial Bank towards Economic Growth and Development of Nigeria

Commercial banks encourage industrial innovations, initiatives and business expansion through the extension of funds mobilized as loan to the deficit sectors (entrepreneurs). To this end, commercial banks are made to aside 10% of their yearly profits before tax for lending to small and medium scale enterprise (SMES)...

http://www.scharticles.com/role-of-commercial-bank-towards-economic-growth-and-development-of-nigeria/